Issue 02

Managing inbound Customer E-mail.
In Part 2 of our series on E-mail Marketing, Dr Dave Chaffey, CIM examiner and seminar leader, looks at strategies, techniques and tools for managing the ever-increasing volume of inbound customer e-mail.

Data Protection: New Practices for a New Era
If you market by telephone or fax you will want to know exactly who can and who cannot be legally approached. The article is provided by Jodie Sangster, Legal Affairs Manager of the Direct Marketing Association UK Ltd.

Guest Columnist - Jay Abraham
Jay Abraham has spent the last 25 years solving problems and significantly increasing the bottom lines of over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries worldwide. Jay argues that there are only three ways to increase your business: 1) Increase the number of clients. 2) Increase the average size of the sale per client. 3) Increase the number of times clients return and buy again. By focusing on these three categories alone it's easy to plan your marketing activities.

Advertising in a Downturn
With the constant cries of "European recession" echoing throughout the financial community we could be excused for holding onto our advertising and marketing budgets until it all goes away. In doing so, however are we not being a little short-sighted? Author Steven Howard is a leading positioning and marketing specialist.

Bridging the CRM Skills Gap
CRM requires significant changes to how you do business. Placing the customer at the centre of the organisation will impact on the roles and responsibilities, internal processes, how staff are motivated and rewarded and the skills that a typical marketer is required to build up throughout their career. Bridging the CRM skills gap is about more than just acquiring the right technical skills; it's about understanding what a CRM focus means throughout the whole organization.

Making the Most of your Exhibition Stand - Part 2: Pre-Show Planning
Have you ever calculated how much money an exhibition stand really costs in terms of staff time (before, during and after), the stand, the space, literature, furniture, lighting, insurance, transportation, distraction from other marketing activities, staff accommodation and expenses and stand giveaways? With the total costs in mind the need to minimise costs and maximise return on investment through careful planning becomes clear.